“I’m just—” The rest of the words never came out, but a sob took their place. I bent over the counter, letting it hold me up while I crumpled.
Edris turned me around and held me in place. “This isn’t goodbye, omega mine. I swear it. You’re my mate, and I already love you.”
“You’ll forget me,” I whimpered as tears flowed down my face in big fat drops.
“What?” He pulled back and cupped my face in his warm hands. “I could never forget you. You’re in my heart now. In my life. We’ll make this work. Please believe in me. Believe in us.”
“I do.” I rubbed the tears from my face while new ones fell. “But life happens. You go back to your job and your life. Calling every day turns into once a week and, before you know it, you can’t remember the last time you spoke to me. Life rarely has a happily ever after.”
The bear tsked and shook his head. “I didn’t know you were such a pessimist about love, mate. That’s never going to happen. Besides, how could I ever forget about drunk Zac beating down my door and shouting at me.”
We both broke out in laughter.
“You were supposed to forget that.”
He leaned in and kissed my lips. It didn’t feel like a goodbye kiss. Probably because I didn’t want it to be. “I’m never going to forget that. That was the night I knew that you were perfect for me. You called me out on my shit and gave me hell about it. I had no idea that was what I needed in my life but I do. Baby, I will always need you.”
“Swear to me that we’ll make this work,” I pleaded. “Swear it, alpha.”
Edris put his hands on either side of my neck, thumbs under my chin. “I swear on the goddess that somehow we will make this work. You and I will be together for however long Fate gives us. I want everything with you, omega. Life. Birth. Old age. All of it.”
“I love you too,” I whispered. Somehow the words sealed our bond.
Jesse honked the horn outside. He had come to pick Edris up and bring him to the shop. We shared a few long kisses and then…he was gone.
My body and heart already felt cold and hollow.
“We’ll make it work,” I told myself and my wolf. The beast inside me had other plans to deal with his depression and loss of his mate. He forced a shift and took off at a speed I didn’t know we were capable of. We zipped through trees and grass until we reached a familiar cliff. It overlooked the highway and a car drove by underneath us. Our mate’s car.
We watched as he rounded a curve and before he was out of sight, my wolf raised his muzzle and howled into the sky, hoping, praying, that our mate heard our cry of pain. He had to know how this affected my animal.
One last cry of pain and my wolf gave in, lying on his belly to grieve.
We stayed like that until the coldness of night somehow became colder than the feeling of being without our mate.
He took us back home. Defeated. Broken.
Chapter Thirteen
Edris
Back in the city, my routine waited for me. Up early to work out in the building gym, shower, and dress then off to the coffee shop along my walk to the office. When I bought the condo, the saltwater pool was a big draw, but the true selling point was the fact that I could avoid having to find parking or pay for it at work. My condo came with a spot in the underground garage, so I didn’t have to move my car for weeks on end.
Might have contributed to my waiting so long to buy the new one, since I so rarely had to sit on that folded towel on the damaged driver’s seat. Also…underground, the mysterious leak in the roof was not an issue.
But I had gone out and bought a new one—which, thanks to one of the many extras I’d purchased, had a return policy I was still able to take advantage of on the day I returned home. Cranky as heck at leaving my omega behind, someone was going to feel my wrath, and who better than the dealer who sold me a car that a scan of the internet and chat with Jesse the mechanic showed me was basically a lemon.
So, after dropping off my bags at home, I made one quick stop then buzzed on down to the dealership to take care of business. The second I’d parked, one of the salesmen appeared out of nowhere. “Welcome, sir. How can we help you today?”
“I bought this here.”
“Isn’t that nice. Are you in for service?”
“Not exactly.” I offered him a toothy smile. “Is Roger in today?”
His face fell, likely assuming that whatever I wanted might be something he could get a commission on. He should be thanking me. “I’m not sure…”
“Edris!” The hearty voice of the man who’d told me this vehicle was one of the safest, least troublesome cars on the road came from behind me, and I turned my smiling face in his direction. “Good to see you. Did you come back to add that extra package we talked about? The free car washes for life?”
